Moonlight Dream
by ozxiii
Summary: They've only ever met inside dreams. Yoh doesn't know he exists. Hao didn't think his plan would fail. "The magic of love is moonlight, just dreaming of you is so fantastic..." HaoxYoh. I suck at summaries, please read and review anyway!
1. a little more than a lot

**Disclaimer: Moonlight by Moumoon and Shaman King by Hiroyuki Takei do not belong to me. **

**Warnings: it's HaoxYoh. So, shounen-ai and twincest. There may be side pairings later. If anything terrible shows up, there will be warnings at the beginning of the chapter.**

**A/N: I think this will be a bit lighter than my other story, Servant of Evil: Waru no Shimo be, as in, less angst, but there's still a little bit in here. Anyway, this story was inspired by a really "happy" song called "Moonlight" by Moumoon. I'm using the English translation of the lyrics by the way. And if you have time, you should definitely go listen to the song. **

**But even though the song that inspired this is happy, I think I made it a bit darker than the song, but not as bad as my other fic. It's at an in between point. Hm, I named this fic "Moonlight Dream" because it's named after the song, and also because this fic deals with dreams a lot. You'll see what I mean.**

**Anyway, enough with my rambling, here's the first installment. **

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Moonlight Dream: "_a little more than a lot._"

_Body swaying in the night wind,  
I think of you on my way home...  
I don't know you deeply, but  
I've liked you for a long time._

I think about the time that _he_ and I have shared as I run home. Anna's waiting for me, but I only jog at a comfortable pace that I like. I don't want to rush myself because I like taking it easy, and I remember that _he _once told me that that's what_ he _liked that about me. _He_ told me that _he_ liked how I could just pull everything into my pace - my stride. A night wind blows, cooling me, and I feel refreshed. It's such a lovely night.

I think _he'd_ like tonight. As I think about the time we shared together, I realize that there wasn't much, but we still made the most of it. Even so, I don't know_ him_ that well. It's only expected of people who have a relationship like ours. But that thought doesn't bother me. After all, we were going at a pace that we were both comfortable with. I feel like I _really _knew _him_ when I was with _him_, even if I didn't. Our pace might not have progressed very fast, but it was a good pace. It was _our_ pace.

And it went fast enough that I started to like _him_… a little more than a lot.

I laugh at myself, thinking that it's a little foolish of me to love _him_ so much when I've never actually met _him_.

That's right, I've only seen _him_ in my dreams.

I don't know if _he_ is real, but I know that I love _him._ _He_ only visits my dreams on rare occasions (but much to my delight, he's been appearing more and more frequently), but I always remember those dreams, down to the very last detail. They're always such vivid dreams, so vivid that I could very well think that they were real. But I know that they are just dreams, because the impossible always happens. I always dream that some kind of miracle happens.

That's why I know that _he_'s not real. _He_ is only part of my dreams, and yet, I love _him_.

My jog comes to an end because I've returned home. I push the thoughts about _him_ out of my head for a moment because I really actually shouldn't be thinking things like that about someone else. After all, I'm engaged to Anna, but those thoughts are pushed away too because I realize that I'm late, and Anna _hate_s it when I'm late. I cringe slightly, at the thought of the horrible punishments I could possibly receive for this.

Running a hundred more laps tomorrow? Having my Bob CD being taken away from me? Worse yet, a slap… _from the Legendary Left_?

I cringe at the thought.

But as I enter the house, Anna only looks up at me for a moment before returning her glance to the television. I hold my breath, waiting for her to unleash her fury upon me, but it never comes. There's no use in sneaking away from her because she's already seen me, but I hope to get out of range in case she _throws something at me._ I take slow and careful steps, makin my way out of her sight.

Tip toe. Tip toe. Tip to-

"Yoh."

Oh dear, she's got me now.

"Yes Anna?" I reply immediately, snapping myself to attention. She pauses, making me suffer a little while I anticipate the inevitable.

"You forgot to get the groceries, didn't you."

Oh. Crap.

"I'm sorry Anna!" I apologize immediately. Once again, her gaze falls on me, she wears a cold, emotionless mask, but I can tell that behind it, there's a temper about to explode. "Don't hurt me!" I cry and her face twitches slightly in annoyance. It's small things like that, that reveal her true emotion to me. And right now, it's telling me that I better run for my life.

"You idiot!" she half yells, before I know it, she's in front of me. I hardly have time to react as her left hand comes shooting out, landing perfectly on my face and whipping across her body. Everything seems to happen in slow motion, I see her fingers cascading perfectly downwards after the initial contact, I see the room flying past me (or is it that I'm flying past the room?), and then I see my life flash before my eyes.

The second impact is when I hit the floor, but that's nothing compared to the slap I just received. My body makes a dull "thud" sound with the floor and I feel my face swollen up. Ah… I think I taste blood.

"I'msh shoreey…" I try to say, but it comes out sounding weird since my face is so swollen. Through my good eye (the other eye can't see very well because the cheek is so swollen), I see that Anna has returned to her seat in front of the TV. She's watching her soaps again.

"Just go to bed. You're leaving early tomorrow morning," she tells me.

"Yesh Ahnnah," and I drag my pathetic corpse up to my room.

I somehow make it to the second floor, even in the state I'm in. I see Horo, Ren, Ryu, and Manta poke their heads out from their rooms. They all wear expressions of sympathy.

"Man, I heard the slap. You look worse than you did after the fight with Faust," Horo commented.

I try to laugh, but it comes out as a kind of choking sound. I make my way to my room as Ryu and Manta whispered their sympathies, and telling me how utterly frightening Anna's left-handed slap is.

Ah, it's nice to have friends who care.

I close my door behind me and change into my sleeping clothes. I had already laid out my futon ahead of time, so it lay there on the floor, inviting me into the warmth that was under it's covers. I smile - well, try to at least - but I hold myself back from slipping under the covers for a moment. I walk to the window of the other end of the room and stare outside at the sky for a moment. It's a nice night, and I was outside, only moments ago.

As I gaze at the sky, I think about the fact that I'm leaving for America tomorrow, for the Shaman Fight. The Patch had said that tomorrow, all the shamans that passed round one were to meet up, and we would be brought to America for the next round of the Shaman Tournament.

Everything's going to change, starting tomorrow, so I try to make this moment last a little longer.

But after awhile, I grow tired and I slip under the warm covers of my futon. Slowly, I close my heavy eyelids and I drift off to sleep, to the dream world…

Everything looks so clear tonight in my dream. So _vivid_.

And at that, I realize what's going on.

"Hello Yoh." I smile and turn around.

_'He's here.' _

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**A/N: Well, what'd you think? Was it is a good start? I decided not to have a prologue this time, I don't know why. Probably because I was too lazy. Anyway….**

**Please Review? It'll make me update faster! **


	2. him Hao

**Reviews: **

**Taiyo: YAY FOR THE FIRST REVIEW! aha, cooking can wait.. fanfiction is _way more important_. lol, just joking. **

**Eh, I know I italicized just about everytime Yoh mentioned "him", and a few times as well. So i guess that was a lot. Oops?**

**I know! XD I actually spent a really long time, just trying to get "The legendary left" scene as nice as I possibly could, which meant a lot of pain on Yoh's part. I'm actually really proud of just that little section in the chapter. XP You know, I always thought the same thing. Why does she bother training Yoh so hard when she'd obviously win the tournament (okay, maybe not against Hao, but she'd come pretty close!)?**

**Aha, yeah. Well, I always thought of Horo as the loud mouth. Everyone kinda knows that getting slapped by Anna is the most horrible thing in the world, so yes, they felt sorry for him. **

**Hmm, yes... I'm just going to tell you to read on for that.**

**Slacking off again? that's what was in my mind. I thought he might be out to get groceries but took a break and started stargazing but then realized that it was really late and he better get home. It's kind of Yoh-like to be sidetracked like that, you know?**

**Aww, that's sad. I hope Joe shows up again. He sounds pretty cool even if he got kidnapped a lot. I'm sure he was grateful that you saved him so many times though. Ahaa...**

**Well, thanks for reviewing! :D **

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**SK-fan7: Yay! Really? Ahh, I'm so glad. **

**Well, of course! I mean... read on, you'll see. As for if Hao's having the dreams or not, we'll see, okay? ;)**

**Gosh, you flatter me. Ah, I got the idea from a bunch of fics that I read before and the song, like i said. don't know, I tend to come up with ideas when I listen to music... well, it's honestly because I notice a shortage of HaoxYoh fics. I'm actually really sad about it. Especially since they're my favorite SK characters. You know what else? I'm actually more into het pairings. XD of course, my only exception is Hao and Yoh. Really. **

**Nah, thank you! **

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**Thunder of Friendship: thanks! Ah, well, read on, you'll see! Hmm, good. I think that I'm going to have a bit of trouble with the "dark stuff" though, considering that I don't have this as well planned out in my head as the other one. In servant of Evil, I actually know what I'm doing and where I'm going with it. I have no idea for this one. XP**

**But thanks for reviewing and I hope you like this next bit!**

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**Krazynkuki: Uwahh, yay! that makes me happy. :) And I'll continue this, no worries about that!**

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**zaza98able: thanks! hm, well, you can read that now, even though I know you want me to wait awhile before I udate, I just had this sitting here, and I was thinking I might as well just update with the crappy chapter so I can move on to the better ones. You know? :P **

**Psh, are you kidding me? I got FIVE REVIEWS, AND SEE HOW FAST I UPDATED? HA, YOU'RE THE LIAR! jokes. I'm hyper today. Hmmm, okay, you get a cookie. But only one. Joking, have as many as you like! :D Aha, again with the apologizing? I get what you mean though, I can't write with people around at all. I'm always scared that they're reading over my shoulder and judging me... ;; **

**yes yes, i know, but I updated really fast anyway. XP **

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**A/N: Okay, I thought that since its St. Valentine's day, why not update? Sure, it's pretty late, but why not? Ah, anyway, happy single's awareness day as well, and I hope you enjoy. (also, I don't' know if I can update this weekend. It might probably end up being updated on Friday or Monday instead of Saturday and Sunday, which I'm accustomed to now).**

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Moonlight Dream: "_him. Hao_."

_Tick-tock, let's get close slowly:  
Intently, excited and in love.  
Zig-zag, as I trace the stars:  
This feeling stirring in me is nostalgic for some reason._

"Hello Yoh." I smile and turn around.

_'He's here.'_

He takes a few steps forward to close the space between me and him. He reaches out and his arms wrap around me, but he feels cold, so I look up at him in concern. I reach out and run my hands through your soft hair, smoothing it out.

"You're cold."

"Share your warmth with me Yoh."

"Okay," I say, and slowly, we move even closer together.

For a long time, we just hold each other like this. Every now and then, I run my fingers through his hair, feeling the silky strands between my fingers. It's so soft. Every time I do this, he seems to hum in delight. I think he likes it when I run my hands through his hair like this…

"I do," he replies to my thoughts. I smile, remembering that he can read my mind.

Slowly, we let go of each other and then he sits. He pats the spot next to him, gesturing for me to sit. I do so, facing him and this time, he reaches out, not to hold me, but to caress my cheek.

"She slapped you today, didn't she?" he says as his fingers gently trace over my cheek. His touches are gentle and soft, and I lean into the touch, wanting more contact.

"Yeah."

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" he asks me. I shake my head. "Not when I'm dreaming. Not when I'm with you."

That makes him smile. His hand stops caressing my cheek and goes past my head, reaching behind me and then it's placed on my back. Then, he pushed me into him. In one swift movement, he's pushed me onto him and he's adjusted our position so that we're lying on the floor, me on top of him. I blush.

"ah, why do you always do that?" I half complain. Well, I'm not really complaining, I rather like this, but I find it embarrassing.

"Well, no one's around, it's okay, isn't it?" he asks. I pout at him and he only laughs at me.

I don't make any effort to change our position though, because I like being held by him like this.

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"Wake up."

That was the only warning I got before I was kicked out of my bed. I yelped at the sudden pain at my side, and whimper a bit. My eyes shoot open and I wait for my vision to adjust before I see what's going on. Anna's standing above me, her foot readying to kick me again.

"Ah, mornin' Annah," I reply. The swelling on my cheek has gone down considerably, enough that I can talk somewhat normally anyway. Anna shrugs and turns around, leaving my room so that I can get dressed. As I pull myself out of the futon, I glance at the clock. It tells me that it's five in the morning, but that's okay, because I'm leaving today.

I dress myself and go through my morning routine, brushing my teeth, finishing up last minute packing and other things. By the time I'm dragging the things I'm bringing with me to America downstairs, it's almost six. I drop my bags off near the door, and I make my way to the kitchen to get some breakfast.

I see Manta and Ren sitting at the table as Ryu starts to serve breakfast. Anna enters right after me and I wonder what took her so long. My question's soon answered though, as Horo, looking like he had just gotten up (he probably did), enters and complains about how Anna had woken him up.

We all take our seats and eat. It's a quiet event that passes quickly, and soon, Ryu, Horo, Ren and I are out the door, making our way to the meeting place (Yokocha base, was it?) while Manta and Anna wave at us from the door, wishing us good luck (in Anna's case, she reminds me that I "_better win or else_").

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When we arrive, it's like a different world. There were all these Shamans _everywhere_, all of them representing their own cultures and looking really strong. Had _all these shamans_ passed the first round? I guess so.

Ryu started getting really excited, saying he couldn't wait to fight everyone while Horo couldn't believe that all these people were going to fight each other. I think he mentioned something about all the weird stuff around too, like the robot and the elephant. Aha, everything looks like it's from a carnival. We even found Silva and Kalim serving food at some booth!

We walked around a bit more, waiting for the Patch to announce whatever was going to happen next. We found a spot to just sit and relax at while waiting and we all started guessing what would happen. While we sat there, chatting and laughing, we quieted, realizing that there was a reason as to why the Patch had chosen this as the meet up place…

But before anyone could say anymore on the subject-

"Just a bunch of kids… you guys… you can actually bother to ask these kinds of questions?"

-someone interrupted us. I turn and my eyes widen. "EH?"

Horo and Ryu started to get annoyed, asking the boy who appeared what he was up to… something about "Are you trying to start a fight?"

But just as I snapped out of my daze, I saw Horo getting punched in the stomach by a… giant… red… monster…

"This is called picking a fight, Horo Horo."

"AHHH!" Ryu screamed. We all rushed over to Horo, as the mysterious boy introduced himself and his spirit. What was it, "Spirit of Fire" or something? I don't know. I was just really worried about Horo. I hope he was okay. Ryu was about to help Horo up, but then the boy introduced himself.

"… future Shaman King, Hao."

_What?_

We all froze and stared at the boy. Ren summoned Bason and helped Horo up. Immediately, rebuttals were made, saying that this "Hao" wouldn't be the Shaman King. Ren was really angry that someone claimed that the title would be theirs. He charged at the boy and tried to attack, while the boy dodged it.

"such a small temper, why are you in such a hurry, Ren? Didn't you learn anything when you went home?"

He kept on with the snide remarks. Ren's temper got worse, he shouted at the boy, "YOU-"

"You want to know why I know such simple things? It's simple, as a king, I know everything!" he smirked. At that, suddenly, _a lot_ of people appeared. They seemed to be his followers. They said something about stopping for now and they all turned to leave, but before they did, the boy called out to me.

"Yoh… the reason why I came was because I was really moved by your determination in your last battle. If it's you, I think you can be a good partner with me, so you have to win every fight, for _me_, the future king, Hao."

I staggered back, taken by surprise by his words and the fact that he called out specifically to me. He disappeared then, leaving my friends and I in quite a state.

But while everyone started to get really agitated and started bashing him, I could only think of three things:

The atmosphere around him felt like Silva's.

He looked _ a lot_ like me.

But most of all, he looked a lot like_ him._

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Everyone boarded the plane and I took my seat among my friends. The Patch made the usual safety instruction announcement while everyone settled down. When the plane got up in the air, Horo started getting agitated about the incident with the boy from before. He kept saying how he was gonna pay him back for it. When we all glanced behind us at the boy (who sat at the back, surrounded by his followers), he waved at us. I don't know what made me do it, but I waved back.

After awhile, everyone started to fall asleep, taking a rest before the second round of the tournament began. But I didn't feel like sleeping. I looked out the window the whole time, even when the sky darkened and turned to night. I looked out, thinking that I was a little closer to the stars… to the moon. The plane had it's lights on, but the moon's light reached the plane, making everything outside look slightly surreal.

As I looked out at the sky, I started tracing out the shapes of the constellations. There was Orion… and then Gemini wasn't that far off. I looked around for more constellations, but it was hard, with the plane moving and tonight being cloudy. I soon gave up and thought about today's events. I had left the inn this morning and met up with my friends. We were then… attacked… by that boy named Hao.

I gasp as I feel a slight ache in my chest at the thought of the boy. He looked a lot like _him_, from my dreams… was it… was he… real?

My thoughts focused only on that boy now. He looked so much like me, I never noticed that in my dreams, but he was definitely the same person as the boy that was in my dreams. But there was so many other thins that puzzled me about that boy - about Hao.

There were too many questions in my head and it started to hurt thinking about it all. So I stopped, since I didn't want to have a headache. I glanced out the window once more, and sighed. It was a pretty long flight, and we still had a ways to go, I might as well sleep.

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He was there, standing behind me, but I didn't turn around. This time, I was hesitant to, I didn't know what to think, except for the fact that I _knew_ who he was now. Still, I wanted confirmation, I was just scared to have it confirmed for some reason.

"It's true," he says. I close my eyes and squeeze my eyelids tight together. I don't really want to see him right now.

"I'm Hao."

I open my eyes and he's not behind me, but he's in front of me. He offers a gentle smile, and I show him my expression, what I'm really feeling.

"Are you that disappointed? Surprised? "

"I'm not disappointed," I say. "I just don't understand."

He - no - Hao walks towards me, reaching out. He doesn't touch me, but he offers his hand to me.

"Why did you hurt Horo? He's my friend! Why didn't you tell me you were real? How… how is this possible? You coming into my dreams, I don't understand!"

Hao looks sad. His hand drops a little, but it's still held out, still giving me an offer.

"It's all necessary, Yoh. I couldn't tell you I was real, there's a reason for that, but I can't tell you yet. There's a lot of things that shouldn't be spoken of yet, Yoh."

"But-"

"Not now. Later. We don't have time now. get ready, wake up."

And it's all gone. Everything disappears before me, evaporating into a black, I open my eyes and I'm on the plane. I feel really tired and I want to go back to sleep, but I can't seem to. As I rub my eyes, I see the Patch chief giving some kind of an announcement on the screen and suddenly -

The plane freaking disappears.

What. The. Fu-

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**A/N : Ahahaha, anyone remember this part? I always laugh when I see everyone falling out of the plane, but that's just me. As for how Yoh reacted to seeing Hao, I don't think I made it dramatic enough, but it was pretty hard, trying to stick to the events in the manga **_**and**_** get Yoh to act like he's super surprised since he's completely mellow and calm about it in the manga. But I hope you all enjoyed that, even though it was pretty bad. bleh. **

**But please review anyway!**


	3. dream again

**Reviews: **

**Thunder of Friendship: Ah, really? WEll, i'm leaving out a lot of stuff. Hm... well, if you notice, Yoh kinda skips over everything that's been happening in reality a lot and he just talks about the stuff that goes on in his dreams. I think he's already distracted. XP Well, here's the next bit, do you don't have to wait!**

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**zaza98able: really? i just found it funny when they were all suddenly falling! That's true though. I really want to read more about Hana... or Yoh, after the shaman fight... and Hao too! I wonder what happened to make them all "Realize" that they couldn't change the world..? and _when _(because we all know it'll happen) does Hao kill all the humans? **

**Nope. That's why I'm posting this one right now. holiday = unstableness? I never knew... jokes! **

**Okay fine, you win, happy? Here's a cookie *no sarcasm* :') Well, I don't know why I did it so fast. i guess i want to get all the bad stuff out of the way, you know? XD Yes, here's a gold medal along with the cookie. Hm, your brother sounds really mean! but... nice self-control. like me, you just can't help yourself, you gotta say sorry, don't you? Oh, I see what you're saying. I'm sorta like that. I can't write unless I'm alone. Eehh.. they joke about what I write? I hope it isn't bad... :S **

**ahaha, i like the word tush! It's cute. Nah, i like talking to you. It's cool. :)**

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**KrazynKuki: DEAL. NOW UPDATE! *calms self down* I'm sorry, i just love your fic a lot, me and two other friends of mine got a really big laugh out of a line in your fic. it's hilarious and I WANT MOAR! so thanks for reviewing and please, _please, PLEASE_ update now that I've updated. :D **

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****InuSarah Uchiha: aw, thanks! and yes, I'm updating now! **

**X) I guess falling out of the sky is dramatic then. **

**Well, I don't think I can imagine Yoh swearing, but I think he'd freak out a little bit, you know? well, I hope you enjoy this next update! **

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**A/N: A lot of this so far is based off the manga, but I've made a lot of changes too. I don't want to have to rewrite the whole manga for this story, so just fill in the parts I skipped. The part about Horo coming back though is right after the Apollo arc, if anyone remembers that. I just didn't want to have to rewrite all that. Anyway. This is around chapter 95 in the manga now. **

**By the way, I SUCK at writing fight scenes. So I kinda completely skipped over that. Excuse the crappiness. **

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Moonlight Dream: _"dream again."_

_The magic of love is moonlight;  
just dreaming of you is so fantastic.  
Moonlight shines on the two of us;  
We flip to the next world._

-_two months later_ -

I lie on my back, staring at the sky. The camp fire offers a little more light than just the moon and stars alone, which helps me see a little better. Around me, everyone else is asleep, tired from walking so much (we're still looking for the Patch village). I have to admit, I'm pretty tired myself, but I don't want to sleep quite yet.

… Ever since I found out who the boy in my dreams was, I've been putting off sleep. It shows that I haven't been sleeping well, and my friends are worrying. Even that British boy, Lyserg, that joined us on the way to the Patch village and he doesn't even know me that well. But the problem is… I'm scared.

Every now and then, we'll find a shaman that tells us something terrible that Hao did. We've learned a lot about him while trying to find the Patch village. The most horrible thing was the vision that Lilirara showed us, because we were able to feel the pain that Hao inflicted on others.

It was terrible. He was capable of such horrid things, but at the same time, he had been so _gentle_ with me in my dreams.

How was he capable of such destruction and gentleness at the same time? I thought back to all the dreams that I had shared with Hao, he had always been kind to me, he had never forced me into anything (I admit, it was _me_ who wanted the kisses or the touches. It wasn't him). He didn't even force me to join his side. He offered it, but he never forced it.

I thought back to when we were falling out of the sky, when the Patch had "dropped us off."

Everyone had been trying desperately to find a way to land safely while Hao sat comfortably among his followers on the back of his spirit. He laughed at the efforts that my friends made - it was a cruel, condescending laugh - but then he turned to me, and once again, he _offered_ - not forced - me a ride.

I didn't take it. I couldn't'. I was scared of everything at that time. I'm still scared now.

And who wouldn't be? Hao was such a cruel yet kind person, and I was having a hard time that he was the one who had been appearing in my dreams this whole time, even before the Shaman Fight began, even before I moved to Tokyo to find Amidamaru, even before I met Manta.

Hao had always been in my dreams, appearing every now and then throughout the years. When I moved to Tokyo, the dreams with him became more frequent, and all this time, I thought he wasn't real. I thought that I had fallen in love with a boy that didn't exist. But this was worse, because he was real, and because he was capable of all those terrible and kind things… and I still loved him, even after finding out about him.

I know he wants to kill all the humans. I know of is evil deeds. I know how powerful he is. But I love him. And that's what I'm scared of. Loving him.

Eventually, I started to become scared of falling asleep. I didn't want to face Hao. No matter how many questions I had or how tired I was, I didn't want to dream, and I didn't want to have to see Hao.

But this was getting too much. Since I found out about Hao being _him_, he's only appeared twice more in my dreams. That time on the plane and one other time, where we didn't do anything. He only stood there, watching me as I watched him.

My eyes seemed especially heavy tonight since we were in a desert now. Walking through the heat and through the sand proved to be tiring and impossible. I was drained. I had to sleep. I took a deep breath, dreading what was to come and closed my eyes.

"You're back."

I didn't want to face him just yet. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping, but I knew it was no use. After a moment, I opened them, and there he was. Hao, right in front of me.

He stood there, under the moonlight, the light glowing a little and making Hao look all the more… beautiful. Oh god, I'd forgotten how beautiful he was. What a sight to behold.

"I was starting to think that you didn't want to see me anymore," Hao said. He actually sounded worried. I think he really was, I think he was starting to miss me.

"I do. I do miss you. I'm glad you came back," Hao said, answering my thoughts. Ah, I forgot about that again.

He walks forward - it's always him that closes the distance between us - and he reaches out, but he hesitates.

"… can I?" he asks for my permission. I should refuse him. I should make myself wake up right now and ban myself from sleep for the rest of my life, but I can't… I just… I can't… He's been part of my life for so long, always being there for me in my dreams, that I can't deny him. I _need_ him.

"Yes…" I reply. I drop my gaze from his eyes, breaking eye contact and staring at his hand as he moves closer and his arms wrap around me. I feel so utterly relaxed and comfortable like this with him, that I can't even remember why I tried to deny all this. But that's what makes me feel scared, and I remember why I _should _refuse all this. But I can't.

"I missed you so much Yoh. You didn't want to see me, so I tried to stay away. I tried really hard, but I couldn't. I need to see you, I need you with me," he whispers. His breath feels warm, and I lean further into him.

When we finally pull back, he looks at me with pained eyes. I can tell he was telling the truth, that he wasn't lying (like I had been warned that he would). We're both under the moonlight now, and the light makes everything look like it's glowing. It's so pretty. I had forgotten how beautiful these dreams were, how vivid they seemed and how amazing it all was. Just being able to have a dream like this, the setting looking so amazing, the moonlight, so soft and Hao… so… divine… it was fantastic.

I really missed these dreams.

"I won't force you. But I really want you by my side. I really want you to be with me." Hao's voice snaps me out of my thoughts. His words move me. As they sink in, I know what he said was right, that we should be together. I note that he's once again giving me a choice, and he's not forcing me into anything. I love that about him, but I'm scared. I feel like I love him so much, but I'm so scared.

He leans in close to me, our faces are only an inch apart. He's so close but I don't mind. I like seeing him up close like this… I want him to be… _closer_.

"Please," he sighs out. I feel his breath on my face. It feels nice. I move in a little closer too...

"I want to be with-"

I wake up.

Ren's shaking me, trying to get me to wake up while Ryu, and Lyserg are already packing up camp, getting ready to start again on our journey to Patch village.

"Come on Yoh," Ren says, standing now that I was awake. "We have to get going."

I nod my head sleepily and stand up, packing my stuff away. It doesn't take long, but we get our things together and we start walking again. While we do so, Ryu hands out some snacks that he's prepared. It's small and not much, but it's breakfast and enough to keep us going for awhile. For today, we were trying to make it to this nearby town that we promised we'd meet Horo at before we went to the Patch village. As we walked, Lyserg noted that it seemed like I slept well for once and I told him that I did. Everyone thought that was good since they knew about me having troubles sleeping (they didn't know about the dreams though), and it seemed that all conversation between us stopped at that. After all, we were all still really worn out, we wanted to conserve more energy for walking.

By nightfall, we reach the town. It looked like a really shady place, but we found a place to stay at (instead of on the street). That night we all slept soundly, but Hao didn't appear in my dreams.

I wonder why.

After so long, I had finally allowed myself to dream again - to dream of _him_ - but then he decides not to show? I was a little disappointed. I wanted to see Hao again. But I would never admit that, not out loud anyway. So the night passed without anything happening. We were all just happy to sleep on actual beds again, I guess. We woke up the next morning and went down to find a place to eat. We found this nice diner place and as soon as we sat down, Horo appeared. He had been missing for three days now, but we were glad he was back. For some reason, Ren started beating him up, but they were just joking around.

After breakfast, Ryu used the "big thumb" oversoul and hitched us a ride. It was really nice, not having to walk and soon, we soon reached Mesa Veldede, the place that Lilirara had told us about. God, I hope that the Patch Village was here, I didn't want to walk anymore.

When we got there though, tourists were everywhere. We all felt disappointed, was the village _that_ hard to find? Lyserg suggested that we see the sights while were there so we stayed for a bit longer. While we were looking around though, Ren wanted to go through to an area that said "keep out".

And then Hao's henchmen showed up.

I smiled, we were in the right place after all.

As my friends and Hao's followers started some fight, Hao's followers said something about me looking like "my ancestor, Hao." That got everyone really confused.

"I think he looks like me," I blurt out.

I'm somewhat ignored as Horo starts demanding them to explain what's going on, but the guy with a turban just says that he was sent to tell me some "secret information" and kill my friends.

Even though I really value my friends' lives, I couldn't stop myself from wondering what Hao wanted me to know.

A fight started and everyone tried to help Ryu out as that Boris guy kept on attacking Ryu. Everyone summoned their spirits, and Ryu oversouled with Tokegero. Ren had already oversouled and same with Horo, but Boris had set up a trap. Those three were surrounded by javelins made of blood, one move and they'd be dead. As for me, the vampire hunter ghost had possessed Lyserg and then took me hostage. It was unfair. All I could do was summon Amidamaru, but that wouldn't even have been much help. I did so anyway, and told Amidamaru to help Ryu any way he could. The samurai disappeared, going to do as I said.

Somehow, Ryu found a way to get out of this… predicament and he saved us all. We all rejoiced, but I think that even if Ryu hadn't won, I would have been okay.

For some reason, something told me that Hao wouldn't let me be hurt, and I believed in that.

As the fight ended, this group that called themselves the "X-Laws" showed up. They killed Boris who we were about to spare and they demanded that we join their side against Hao. I refused the offer, but I saw that Lyserg was considering it. I disliked the way that they were trying to force us to join them, claiming that Hao was evil. From my point of view, it seemed that they were evil, after all,_ not_ _even Hao_ tried to force me to join him. What makes these guys think that I would join them?

Hao's followers reappeared, having disappeared in the middle of Boris' fight with Ryu. A fight between them and the X-Laws broke out and… the light of the archangels blinded us. It was so holy and majestic but terrible and wrong. These guys were going to kill each other. Just as the X-Laws were going to kill yet another person, I intervened.

"if you're going to kill him," I said as I oversouled, "I'm be there to prevent it."

Somehow, that shocked everyone. But that Marco guy accused me of being one of Hao's. That startled me, but I answered truthfully, telling him that I joined the Shaman Fight to have an easy life, not to pick sides. But this guy wouldn't let it drop, he was about to shoot, but I attacked and he shot Harusame.

The X-Laws warned us one last time to leave before they disappeared and I was left thinking that I owed Amidamaru again (how many times have I broken Harusame now?). That aside, we began our way down to the Patch Village (at last!) and everyone started talking about how far into the Earth we had gone. At one point, we felt like we were lost, but the guy we saved, Hao's follower (I think his name was Billy), told us that the path would only reveal itself to chosen shamans.

As his words sank in, everyone began to worry, but I didn't. After all, we had made it this far, and I wasn't going to turn back now.

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**A/N: Ah, that ending REALLY sucked. I'm sorry. But I promise to make it better, actually, I rather like the next chapter. **

**please review!  
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	4. secrets

**Reviews: **

**Krazynkuki: Yay! Well, sure thing, since I'm updating now. Sorry it took me so long though! I'll try not to take so long for my next update.

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**FantineRose: thanks a lot! Hmm, good! **

**And thanks again, I hope I don't disappoint!

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**Thunder of Friendship: ahh, I do like this chapter a bit. Thanks a lot, I guess that's what happens when I think of stories that I have no plans for. Well, I have an idea sa to what I want to do, but I don't know how to end it, you know? Well, Yoh really trusts Hao in this story. No worries about that, I'm about to stray from the manga very soon.

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**

**SK-fan7: it's okay, don't worry about! **

**Your English isn't bad. If I can understand what you're saying, it's pretty good! And you're flattering me… **

**Thank you! Well, I hope you like this next chapter then! Hmm.. well, I think Hao seems kinda OOC though. But of well. Ah, well, yeah, Yoh has to choose between his friends/family and Hao! Ohh, I hope I didn't make you wait **_**too**_** long. Anyway, enjoy!

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**Zaza98able: No, it's fine, I totally get it! **

**I remember at one point while reading the manga, I was practically screaming at it to go fast or go to a part about Hao or Yoh. Yeah, the manga does get boring sometimes, but it was still really good! I love how Hana is a good mix of Yoh and Anna, and I love Yoh to bits. Hao's just… beyond words for me… I love those three! **

**:P**

**Haha, I steal my brother's food… yeah, he gets mad at me too. Lol, you sound so happy. Hmm…. Well, it's not good that they laugh at the stuff you write, but what a relief. I thought I might have written something strange… **

**Well, yeah. Lol, modest, aren't we? Just joking. You know, you already said that word said sorry once, you can say it again. AND DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!

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**A/N: I'm sorry if there's any spelling mistakes. It was really cold when I was typing this one out, so I wrote it wearing gloves. Even though I've proof read it a few times, there still may be a few mistakes in there.

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Moonlight Dream: "_secrets._"

_The magic of love is moonlight;  
I pray to an asterisk for lover's magic.  
The city lights shine on me alone;  
I've got a bittersweet twinge in my heart, but...  
Woo, this is a love song...  
Woo, sing in the moonlight…_

I was floating in space. Everything was empty. I didn't know where I was. But for some reason, I felt a strange and eerie calmness. Some how, it turned out that I was in the ocean. A whale swam by, I followed after it. Slowly, more things came into this strange… "world." Ships appeared, and I didn't know if I was on the surface of the ocean of below it. Then, the Earth appeared under the ocean, and I began to see other life forms.

It was all so confusing, but it made so much sense… this was the history of the Universe…

A night sky appeared, a skeleton flashed by, there were many images, aliens, water drops, twin babies, faces… so many faces… and then, I was on the shore. I was above the ocean, standing on the sandy beach, staring out into the horizon. I walk towards the water's edge, and just as the water touches me feet-

_"We'll create a world together. A world of our own."_

I open my eyes. My breathing is ragged and I'm sweating. Looking around, I see that I'm alone. This room… where am I? "My friends…"

But then a few images flash before my mind again… "what… what was..?"

The images stop appearing before me. It's like some kind of a slide show in my head that just ended, but then I remember the dream I had just woken up from. I remember how it ended.

_"We'll create world together. A world of our own."_

A voice. That dream just now had ended with someone telling me… telling me something. The words sound so clear in my head, but I can't speak them out. Something's weird… something's… changed.

"What… what was that…? Where am I?"

"You finally woke up."

At that I glance to the side and I see Silva sitting there. He seems to be the only other person in the room. He smiles at me and welcomes me.

"You are in Patch Village. In the sacred country of the stars, where the Great Spirit is celebrated."

I… then I-I made it. I… I made it to the village, but where are my friends? Where's everyone else?

"Yoh, I congratulate you for getting here," Silva says.

"What was… all that…?" I ask Silva. He smiles at me and offers me some… soup.

"Drink this. There's nothing like good banana and fish soup after having visions." I take the cup from him.

"Visions?"

"You saw it, didn't you? The memory of the star that lies within you," Silva asked. I gave him a look that told him that I was utterly confused. He gestured for me to follow him, so I did.

"You received the Great Spirit's benediction Yoh. The Great Spirit accepts you," he said. We walk through a door, and we're outside now. I look up at what Silva seems to be staring at and I see huge mass of spirits… souls… all linked together and combined as one. So that's what the Great Spirit is. It's the innumerable souls all linked together. The souls of everything that ever came to be…

As I stare up in wonder, Silva starts explaining that the Great Spirit was where all souls came from and where all souls returned to. He told me more and more about the Great Spirit and the things that the Shaman King could do with such power, but we were interrupted. It seemed that Horo had just woken up as well.

At that, Silva and Karim told us where everyone else was. They told us how Ryu was the first to awaken, and that Ren never end fainted. Everyone had had their own visions, their own memories of the stars within them.

I wonder what Hao had a vision of?

Sitting in the middle of Patch village, my friends and I look around, seeing the various Shamans that had also arrived at the village. Everyone looked different and I think back to when we were in Japan, only a few months ago, waiting to board the plane. It seemed like such a long time ago… As we look around, we all decide to explore a little. We walk around from store to store, seeing the various trinkets for sale and foods too (it seemed that the banana and fish soup was quite a popular item on the menus of some of the restaurants, which reminds me, I didn't get to drink the soup that Silva gave me earlier). Patch village seemed to have everything that a modern city had, except, their technology was different. Everything that the Patch made was… more than ecofriendly. Their electronics didn't hurt nature or anything. Everything was a product of their Furyoku.

Ah, wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone on Earth just made things with Furyoku? Then pollution wouldn't be such a problem.

The more we walked around, the more I started to compare everything around me with things in a normal city. Everything here worked so well, and without hurting nature at all. Why couldn't humans find a way to do what the Patch did? The world would be a much better place-

_"We'll create a world together. A world of our own."_

- A cold wind blew by and I shivered, hearing the words that had been carried by the breeze. Who was that? I glance at my friends, seeing if they had said anything. But Ryu and Lyserg were looking at some skeleton keychain while Horo read over a restaurant's menu and Ren scolded him for being such a pig. It seemed that none of them had said a word, but then, who had that been? I shrug to myself. It must have just been my imagination.

* * *

Sometime in the evening, Lyserg disappeared. We also met a boy name Chocolove. He explained to us what was going to happen with the next round of the tournament, but just as we learned about having to form teams of three, Ren goes and says that Horo and Chocolove are in his team. That left me and Ryu. We weren't worried though, Ryu said that we could ask Lyserg later when he showed up again. I agreed and at some point, Faust showed up with Manta. It was all very weird, meeting up with everyone again after having that weird vision. I wonder what that vision of mine had meant? The memory of the star within me…

By night, we had found a building that we could stay at. The Patch said that they had hotel-like buildings for the contestants to stay at for tonight, and that the next morning, we'd travel to the island that the actual tournament was to take place on.

That night, everyone kind of just went and did their own thing, I don't know, I guess everyone just wanted time to themselves to prepare for everything that lay ahead. I wasn't complaining though. It had been a long time since I had time to myself, and frankly I liked it. I went out, finding a spot to go to stargaze. Amidamaru floated after me, keeping me company and chatting with me while we looked for a nice place to stop and relax at.

"Yoh-dono," Amidamaru started. "are you well?"

I smile. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

"I'm worried. A lot has happened and everything has been happening very fast. I just hope that Yoh-dono is unaffected and still well," Amidamaru explained. I smiled a little, happy that my mochirei cared so much.

"Ah, you don't have to worry. I'm fine," I say. Just then, I stop walking and I point to a spot in the field next to us. It was grassy, but the green field looked very soft and comfortable. The moon cast a light upon the field, making it glow beautifully against the backdrop of the midnight-blue sky. A few fireflies flew about, adding to the dream-like setting. It was all very breath-taking and stunning. "Let's stargaze over there."

I walk over and lie down on my back, facing the stars. Amidamaru watches as I do so, making sure that I'm safe like this, that they aren't any Shamans that wanted to eliminate some competition ahead of time. We stay like this for a long time, just stargazing and occasionally talking about something irrelevant. But it was all okay, because I loved to relax like this. The silence was interrupted once though. Bason, Ren's spirit came floating by, saying that Ren had wanted time to himself and so, the spirit was without company. Seeing Bason so lonely, I told Amidamaru to go with him somewhere, saying that I'd be okay by myself. After all, Amidamaru and Bason had become good friends during our travels, I was sure that those two had more to talk about than I did with Amidamaru (after all, I just wanted to sit out here in silence, really. It'd be kind of boring for Amidamaru out here), so I dismissed the two and went back to my stargazing.

"Ah, the stars are beautiful tonight," I say as I see a shooting star fly by. Quickly, I wish upon it, hoping for it to come true.

"They are, aren't they?"

I smile, my wish came true.

I feel a pair of arms pull me up and wrap around me. My back is firmly pressed against his chest as he holds me, surrounding me with himself. He feels warm, and it feels nice sitting like this. I lean my head back all the way so that I can see my visitor, only, upside-down.

"Hi Hao."

"Hello Yoh."

Seeing Hao like this, in the field and looking as handsome as ever, I feel an aching in my chest. The feeling tells me that I have longed for him to hold me like this in real life for a very long time. We have been like this many times before, but never in real life, only ever in my dreams. But thinking about this now, I wonder why Hao wasn't in my dreams when I wanted him to be.

"What's bothering you?" Hao asks, sensing the sudden change in my mood. It was very slight, but he still noticed it.

"Why weren't you in my dreams last time?" I asked. He shrugged. When he didn't give me a real answer, I wondered how he even found his way into my dreams in the first place. I wondered a lot of things about Hao, but this was one of the bigger questions. A silence passed, and I dropped the subject. I didn't really want to talk about sad things during such a nice moment.

"So how was your first day in Patch village?" hao asked me after awhile. I stop staring at the stars to watch look at Hao, tilting my head back again.

"It was interesting. I met a lot of new people today."

He smiled at me, "and how do you feel?"

I quirk an eyebrow, "what do you mean?"

"After your vision, how do you feel? Different? The same?"

"I feel, different. Just a little, but I know I'm different now."

"How so?"

"Something… I think something inside me woke up when I received the Great Spirit's benediction. The vision… the words… there was something strange about it all. But it all made sense when I was dreaming it, or hearing it. When I woke up, everything, all my senses, it all felt different."

Hao's eyes widened for a moment, but he made no other signs that he was surprised. I watched him, curious. Had I said something wrong…?

"I see," he replied after awhile. "You heard something too."

"What do you mean, Hao?" I ask. He gave me another smile.

"I've asked many people about their visions before. They all said that they could see, smell, taste and feel whatever was going on. They were visions from the Great Spirit itself after all, but…"

Hao trailed off.

"But what?"

"Rarely does anyone ever hear a message from the Great Spirit itself. Tell me Yoh, what did the Great Spirit tell you?" Hao asked. My eyes widened in understanding. Was it really so special to receive a message from the Great Spirit? If Hao was surprised, then I'm sure it was a big deal.

"Something… I can't quite recall. I mean, I can, but I can't say the words themselves," I frown. He pats me of the head, telling me it's okay.

"What about you?" I ask. Hao looks at me funny.

"What was in your vision?"

Hao laughed. I didn't know what was so funny, but I joined in anyway, it was because Hao's laugh was so mesmerizing. It made you want to laugh too, Hao just had that something about him that drew me into him, that made me want to be near him, that made…

"Many things happened in my vision, but I'll tell you a secret," Hao said. I waited for him to continue.

"The Great Spirit spoke to me too." This time, it was my turn to stare at him surprised. I leaned back into Hao's chest, no longer tilting my head back to see him.

"I can't say the words either. I wonder why," Hao added after a minute. I nodded, feeling him rest his chin on my head.

"Well, would you like me to let you in on a secret?" Hao asked. His tone seemed to have changed.

"What is it?" I asked. This time, I turned around so that I wouldn't have to look at him upside-down. The expression on Hao's face looked really serious.

He leaned in close to me. "It's a really big secret, and there's a lot of other secrets that come along with it."

"Tell me," I beg him. I feel like a little kid who's curious about a secret his parents having been hiding from him. Hao comes closer still, an inch separates our faces. Somehow, this feels familiar, it's like, déjà vu… I like the feeling of having Hao so close to me. Inside, I yearn to have him even _closer_ to me. There's this bittersweet twinge inside my heart, telling me to stop, but telling me that I want this. Slowly, I lean in too.

Our lips brush against each other's, I feel an overwhelming sensation spread from my lips to the rest of my body. Suddenly, I'm aware that Hao's hands are on me too, touching me and roaming all over my body. It's then, when I'm so lost in this feeling, in his touches and in his kiss, that he chooses to speak.

"We're twins."

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**A/N : Oh psh, Hao. Like we didn't know that already ? ahaha, I just needed to get the fact that Yoh didn't know out of the way so we could move on to better stuff. Well, at least Hao and Yoh kissed (kinda)!**

**Well, hope you enjoyed it! If everything goes as I have sort of planned, then you guys will get to see someone else's POV aside Yoh's next chapter. :) **

**So, please review?**

**Oh and here's something kind of pathetic: the part at the end of this chapter was inspired by a drawing I did. Um, drawing fanart for myself, i find, pretty sad. Anyway, here's the picture if anyone's interested:**

h t t p : / / w w w . f l i c k r . c o m / p h o t o s / 5 9 9 9 7 7 7 4 N 0 2 / 5 4 8 0 0 2 3 4 2 9 /

***Updated: the link above should work now.**


	5. samurai's vow

**A/N: I'm very sorry about how long this took me. I've been so busy... any I'm thinking about rewriting my other story... it's all so hectic.**

**And I'm also sorry that i didn't rely to reviews like I normally do. I just don't have the time to right now, even though your reviews make me really happy. So please don't stop reviewing just because I'm not replying to them.  
**

**Anyway, here's a change. It's Amidamaru's POV at the beginning instead of Yoh's, and it goes back to Amidamaru's at the end. I just thought it'd be nice since we haven't heard much from the spirits. I might as well start with Amidamaru.**

**I think you guys will like Yoh's POV by the way.**

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Moonlight Dream: "samurai's vow."

_From the row of candles in the room;  
As I sleep, my half-awake,  
Half-dreaming story progresses._

_

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Amidamaru's Point of View.

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_

I'm beyond worried. I'm completely and utterly distraught.

As a mochirei, I have failed… I have failed to protect my master… Oh, how could I? If only I had not left Yoh-dono by himself. If only he had not insisted that I go and keep Bason company! Maybe Yoh-dono would still be here, may be he would be okay! I wonder, where did he disappear to? Is he okay? Why would he disappear before such an important event? What about the Shaman Fight?

Ohh… Yoh-dono… why did you leave?

No.. Worse yet, maybe Yoh-dono was kidnapped! My mind wanders, maybe… maybe…

I must not think thoughts like that. I must believe in Yoh-dono! But why would he leave without so much as a word of "good bye"? Why would he leave without telling me?

Yoh-dono….!

I float around Yoh-dono's room pondering what to do. It's almost morning, and yet, Yoh-dono has not returned. I did not know what to do, ask for the help of Yoh-dono's friends? But I would be ashamed to admit I have lost my master. When I went to find him, he was no longer at the field. He was nowhere to be seen! I believe I have searched the whole of Patch Village and it's surroundings, and yet, I have not been able to locate my master. I have failed as a mochirei, I have failed as a samurai!

I cry silently, hoping that some miracle will happen, or at least, some sign will tell me that Yoh-dono is safe-

"Amidamaru, what's up!"

Yoh-dono!

I jump and float immediately to my master's side. I cling to him, refusing to let go as I cry tears of joy. Ah, my master is safe! I was so worried!

"woah! Hey, Amidamaru, what's wrong?"

"you were gone for so long Yoh-dono, I was worried something had happened!" I cry. I try to calm myself, compose myself, as I let go of my master. He is still wearing that smile of his, looking a little sleepy (but master always looks like that). Over all, it seems that he is okay, and that nothing had happened.

"Where had you gone?" I ask in curiosity as I continue my inspection of my master. No cuts or scratches or wounds of any kind on his arms or legs…

"Ahh, I wanted to take a walk, and I got lost in the forest around the field, I got tired of trying to find a way out, so I decided to take a nap," Yoh-dono replies. I smile at master's silliness. He is clumsy at times, and lazy, but Yoh is Yoh. And I am glad that he was able to take care of himself last night like he did.

"Please be more careful from now on," I warn him, and Yoh nods. I am simply happy that master is okay, and as I finish my inspection of him, I deem that he was telling the truth and that he was unharmed. Good thing that it was just my worries.

* * *

Yoh sat comfortably at the front of the helicopter while Ren and Horo argued about something. I found the conversation to be quite entertaining as Ren was trying to use blackmail to keep us all from looking out the window and seeing his family support him in the Shaman fight (in such an embarrassing way). While I hovered in my spot, I glanced at the other spirits that were around. I wanted very much to go and talk with Bason again about how he conquered parts of China when he was alive, but I was worried that if I left Master Yoh's side, then he would disappear again, even though we were on a helicopter and he was safely sat at my side, sleeping soundly.

I sigh and take one more look out the window, around us, there were many modes of transportation bringing the numerous Shaman to the next fighting ground. I caught sight of the Tao family as well as that group that had called themselves the X-Laws earlier. I didn't recognize anyone else, but there were many more shamans than just the ones I recognized. My eyes widened as I surveyed all the different types of people… and six hundred years ago, all this would be unheard of. All I was, was a samurai spirit. I had never met a Shaman before until Yoh-dono came along, and suddenly, the world opened up to me. The world wasn't just a tall hill that sat, overlooking the city of Tokyo, it was a vast landscape with many hidden mysteries and surprises around every corner.

And I realized all this because this young boy, not even half the age I was when I died, had asked me to be his mochirei. I glance over at Yoh-dono, making sure that he is still there and safe (I don't know why he wouldn't be there, but I felt like I needed the assurance). This boy had shown me so much, I am in debt to him.

As I think about these things, I remember my role as a, not just a guardian spirit, but as a samurai as well. Yoh-dono has done so much for me, fixing Harusame, reuniting Mosuke and I, showing me the wonders of the world, I owe him. I shall treat him as a lord, and for a lord, their samurai is their protector. Yes, I vow to protect Yoh-dono for… the rest of my life? No, that won't do. I have no life left in me.

I vow to protect him for as long as he needs me, and no matter what he chooses to do.

Yes, that's better.

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_Yoh's Point of View.

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_

Ah, a helicopter ride. It's really boring, just traveling all the time. At least, this time we won't be walking on foot for two months. I yawn.

Everyone told me that it would be a short trip to the island, but I was tired. After… last night's events, I wanted to catch up on some sleep… no, that's a (half )lie. I wanted to_ dream_.

Looking around the helicopter, I see Ren looking startled as he glances out the window. I see Chocolove laughing to himself and Ryu looking very thoughtful in another corner (that's strange of him…) and Horo playing with Kororo. Everyone seems to be off, doing their own thing. I guess it's okay for me to take a nap then.

I close my eyes and will myself to fall asleep. I try to block out the loud sounds made by the helicopter and I focus on the slight rocking movement of the helicopter. The movement reminds me of a baby in a cradle, being rocked, back and forth, gently to sleep.

_Back and forth, back and forth…_

"You're asleep again."

I smile, "yup. It's tiring, traveling all the time."

Hao smiles at me and walks over. He hugs me like always, but instead of staying like that for awhile like we normally do, he pushes me back a bit and stares at me. "How are you?" He sounds worried. I shrug, but he doesn't take that as an answer.

"You just found out that we're related… and all those other things too. I'm sorry I kept it a secret from you."

Again, I just shrug. In all honesty, I was shocked. I didn't know what to think last night. I mean, we're brothers, -twins, no less- and I was in love with him. All those times when he held me like a man holds his lover, all those kisses we shared, they were acts of incest. I didn't think that it would turn out like this. Last night, after he told me that first secret, he told me some other things too. But at the same time, there were still secrets that Hao kept from me. I didn't mind, because he was being more truthful to me than anyone else had been.

And after all that, he offered me a spot by his side again.

"Yoh, are you okay?" Hao ask after a moment. I nod my head, snapping out of it. He touches his forehead to mine and smiles.

"I was just worried of what you might think," Hao admitted.

"I still love you Hao," I tell him, and he sighs in relief. He opens his eyes, staring into my own eyes. His eyes are the same colour, but they look so different from mine. His eyes hide a secret, a mystery that he seems to keep from everyone, and I enjoy trying to figure out what that secret is. As his eyes close again, I lean in further, this time, I'm the one who wants the kiss.

It starts out as a touch of lips. It's soft, but the pressure is there. I press my lips to his first, but then he's the one that presses further, making the contact absolute and firm. I smile and I feel him move his lips against my own. It feels nice. I tilt my head to the side, furthering the contact. Soon, I feel his tongue dart out and lick my lip, begging gently for an entrance and I allow it. I open my mouth to him and his tongue roams in, playing and teasing my own tongue, getting me to play. The way he plays with my tongue sends shivers down my spine as I realize that his hands are on my back, tracing light shapes and endless patterns, lazily. His kisses get more desperate as he licks my lips again, sending another shiver through me. Soon, it feels as though he's dominating me in our kiss so I fight back, tasting him along the way. Still, Hao wins and I feel like I've been pushed backwards. We fall and land on the soft grass below us, and his hands travel from my back to roam over the rest of my. His hand passes over my stomach, still tracing patterns all around, as he makes his way to my chest. I moan in delight and he takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss even more.

The need for air stops us momentarily and we pause. He pulls his lips from mine and we are staring into each other's eyes again. I feel like I could just stare at him for forever as his eyes draw me in. He leans close, so that we kiss again.

I jolt awake as the helicopter lands and I yawn, disappointed that the dream was cut off so soon… and it was just getting to the good part too. Sighing, I think back to the kiss we had just shared. It felt so real, and I shivered as I remembered his hands touching me… his lips hovering over my own.

I snap out of it as I see everyone getting off the helicopter. I stand and make my way off the helicopter. When I'm back on the ground again, I see the crowds of shamans making their way to the meeting place. I follow after and Amidamaru floats by my side. He's looking rather alert today and he's been sticking awfully close to me. I wonder if it's because I stayed out all night with Hao last night. I shrug the matter off and smile lazily, thinking that after this meeting, we'll probably just have to find a place to stay and then I'd be able to go sleep again, and hopefully see Hao in the dream.

We get to the meeting place and there's a huge chart in front of us. There's nothing written on it, but I see the various lines connecting, showing us that this would be what the Patch used to tell us who would fight who. I feel worried that I had not yet found a full team yet, but I brush the worry aside.

The worry returns when we see Lyserg standing with the X-Laws.

Ryu breaks out in tears and I feel an anger well up inside me at the thought of the X-Laws. I didn't like those guys and their ideas of "purging the world of evil and Hao." the idea just didn't sit well with me, so I looked away, a little more worried about finding a team now. The Patch began their announcements, telling us that we still had a little time to find teams before they would determine who fought who. I sighed, relieved. Once the meeting was over, we found a place to stay at. It seemed that the Patch had enough "hotels" or places for rent for everyone on the island, which was good. Ren's team and my half-formed team decided to rent out one of the buildings for the remainder of the time we were there, it worked out nicely.

When I was finally settled down, I sighed. Today had been a long day, and I still hadn't gotten much sleep. I wanted to just collapse, then and there, and be whisked off to dreamland and spend my time with Hao, but I couldn't really do that. Not when I had other things to worry about. I know that I always say that "everything will work out in the end," but nothing would work out if you didn't put even _a little _effort into it, so I needed to figure out who I was going to go with in a team for the tournament. Ryu was kinda already there, so the problem was that we needed one more person, but who?

Lyserg was out of the question now. He was obviously on the X-Laws' side. But maybe I could convince him to join us again? I yawned. No, that probably wouldn't work. He seemed pretty convinced that the X-Laws were the embodiment of his ideals. I yawn again, hm... Ren already had his team, which meant that Horo and Chocolove were taken…

Ah, my eyelids are so heavy…

But who else could Ryu and I get to join our team? Or whose team could I join?

Eh, it wouldn't hurt to sleep just a little bit… ah… I'm so tired. Maybe just a little… I'm sure… everything… will work out… in the end.

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_Amidamaru's Point of View.

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_

With Master Yoh passed out and sound asleep, I float over to him and wish that I could touch material things so that I could cover him with a blanket. Yoh-dono doesn't know how to take care of himself sometimes. So the least that I could do was… I suppose watch over him, make sure that he was okay. The last time I had just left him on his own (only last night), he had disappeared and scared me to death (no pun intended). I didn't want a repeat, so I might as well watch over Master.

But as I watched him sleep, I noticed that master Yoh looked… strange. The lazy smile that was his usual sleeping expression was not there. It was replaced by a relaxed calm expression… but it felt eerie at the same time. There was just something about that way Yoh-dono looked while he was sleeping that seemed a little different than usual. Or was that just my imagination? No, I vaguely recall that Yoh had always had a peaceful atmosphere around him, even at tense times. What this was… this was an unknown mood. It wasn't so much a bad thing, just mysterious, like something was going on, but it was being kept a secret from everyone. I frown at this.

"Yoh-dono… Yoh-dono," I try to wake up my master. Maybe something is wrong. He stirs, but quickly drifts back to sleep. This time, his expression looks trouble. Is there something wrong?

"Yoh-dono! Yoh!" I try once again. I reach out, forgetting that I cannot touch him, but the moment that my hand reaches him, his eyes widen.

I stumble back, startled, thinking that my master was finally awake, but he was not. He was sleep walking, or sleep… whatever. All I knew was that he was still asleep, but his eyes were open. A blank expression was on his face. He started shaking and muttering things to himself. It scared me, seeing Yoh-dono like this. What was going on?

The muttering got louder and louder, it sounded frantic now and panicked. Master's eyes widened even more, seemingly in fear. Tears streamed down his face as he began to cry, but in a strange way,as if he was unaware that he was crying.

"No! Don't kill her! She did nothing wrong! No!" he screamed. Something is wrong, something is _very wrong, _and yet I could not bring myself to go find help. Something told me to stay and see this through to the end. I looked into Master's blank, wide eyes and I see that they are not as blank as I thought they were. There's something there, it's small, but definitely there. As master kept screaming about trying to stop … a woman's (?) death, the thing within his yes changed… what.. Was that…?

Upon closer inspection, I realized that the thing changing and flashing before Master's eyes was a scene. It was the reflection of a scene… I understood now that Yoh was seeing something, as whatever it was, was reflected off his eyes like it would be if he were to truly see something in front of him. More tears fell from his eyes, but he made no attempt to wipe them away. I reach out, forgetting for a second time that I could not touch master Yoh. But before my hand reaches him, he collapses back on the bed, sound asleep like nothing ever happened.

I was scared out of my wits, and did not know what to do. I was worried beyond belief, and did not know what to do. Should I ask for help? Should I consult one of master Yoh's friends? It would probably be a good idea to do so, and yet, something made me stay where I was. Was it fear? No, fear did not render me completely frozen and unable to carry out my duties as a samurai. It was something else altogether, but I couldn't place what it was. I glance down at my master who looked like the incident just now had never happened… seeing him like this, I almost doubt that it did happen, but Yoh's tear stained cheeks tell me that it had happened.

For a third time, I forget that I cannot touch master, and I try to wipe away his tears, vowing that I would protect master Yoh from whatever it was that ailed him, and that I would stay by his side in loyalty.

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**A/N: Ahh, I didn't really like this chapter that much. I mean, I had to make Yoh go all crazy and stuff. Plus, it sounds like a AmidamaruxYoh fic, which it's not. Amidamaru's a samurai, and samurai were very strict to themselves about protecting their lords and honoring their promises/vows (hence, Amidamaru waiting for Mosuke for 600 years). So there's nothing going on there except that Amidamaru is (very) loyal to Yoh. **

**But that aside, what did you guys think? Was Amidamaru's POV good, or should I just not try that again? XD and what's it like, knowing everything that went on in Yoh's dreams before, and then me keeping it a secret this time? Hm….? **

**:3 **

**Well, please tell me in your reviews, and I'll be very grateful! **


	6. a present

**Reviews:**

**Thunder of Friendship: hm, really? I thought that Yoh going all crazy might be a bit weird. Haha, no it wasn't Anna. You'll find out in this chapter, so I won't say anymore. ;)**

**hm, i'm hoping to write from more POVs than just Hao and Yoh. I'm not usually good at juggling a lot of characters, but I want to try, you know? Anyway, thanks for the review, and enjoy!**

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HaoxYohIncestLover: aw shucks. haha, thanks! Hm, i like the two of them being close. I mean, I know they hardly knew each other, but they're twins! They needed to act a little closer in the manga... likwe they did at the end. Oh, you're a twin? That's so awesome! Ah, i see what you mean. Well, hope you enjoy this chapter. Judging from your name, I bet you will. haha. p.s. Thanks!

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**zaza98able: No, that's fine! i'm honored that you'd put off studying to read this in the first place! and I hope you did well. :) **

**yeah! I'm not good at balancing a lot of different POVs in one story, so I want to try... we'll see how it works out.**

**hm, good that you get it. I was worried that people might read that and think that, but good that you didn't. Haha "Out of nice things to say"? that made me laugh for some reason.**

**aww, thanks! I missed you guys too. :') i'll try not to go away unannounced again.

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**SK-fan7: oh thank you! ah, here's an update. I hope you didn't wait too long. And don't worry. I get what you mean. i'm really busy too.**

**Yay! At least I got Amidamaru right! Now... for every other character. ;; Anyway, thanks for the review, and enjoy! :)**

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**A/N: Some lines were taken out of the manga (towards the end of the manga), but I think you guys realize that by now, that I take lines every now and then from the manga.**

**Well, at least this chapter, you'll see what happened to Yoh in his dream! **

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Moonlight Dream: "_a present_."

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_Tiptop, it's you and me together,  
Mellow, on a boat bobbing excitedly.  
Ting-a-ling, it's like the stars are singing  
"Let's let go everywhere fate leads".

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_

_Yoh's Point of View.

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_

Ah crap. I fell asleep, didn't I?

As I look around, the scene is different from the usual field of soft grass that's the setting of my dreams. This time, it seems that I am standing at a lake's edge. It's still night time as always, and I see the night sky reflected off the surface of the water. It looks as if I could reach out and _touch_ the sky. I sigh, certain that I am in fact dreaming and not awake, like I was supposed to be. What's wrong with me? Can't I stay awake for a few hours?

Ahh, what am I going to do? I still haven't figured out the teams thing yet! If I don't figure that one out soon, then I could be kicked out of the tournament! And then I wouldn't be able to have the easy life like I always wanted, or… or worse! Anna might _SLAP_ me! Oh god, the horror! I shivered at the thought of it. My cheek, though recovered, still felt tender, and the last time she had slapped me was well over two months ago.

"Then why don't you join my team, Yoh?"

My eyes widen as I realize that I rarely had a dream to myself nowadays, they were usually shared, like this one, and here was the other person who took part in the dreams.

"I can't do that Hao," I reply, turning my back to the water to face my… brother… my twin. He's smiling at me, and he licks his lips, bringing back the memory of our last encounter.

"And why not?" He asks. He doesn't sound the least bit deterred or saddened. It seems almost as if he's confident he could persuade me onto his side.

"Because… I don't believe in killing," I hesitate. I falter. Why does he do this to me? I don't think it's on purpose, but somehow, he just has that affect on me. It's somewhat frustrating when you're trying to think straight. Hao does frown at this reply and he closes the distance between us, but instead of coming straight towards me like he usually does, he goes to the water's edge and dips his feet into the water.

"Then what about the humans? What's your stance on them?" he asks. I smile sadly to myself, and I can't believe I'm about to admit this… "You know, I don't like humans that much either."

Hao turned around, looking hopefully at me. "Then why do you protect them?" he asks. His confidence from before has faded away, and now, he just seems… desperate? No, that's not the word. Hao would never be desperate for _anything_. But he seemed like he really wanted me on his side. Why is that? Is it because of all the things he's told me? About being twins, about being the same soul, about being one? It was just so hard to figure Hao out sometimes.

"I… don't... want to kill. No matter who it is, I don't want to kill."

Hao shakes his head slightly and places his hands on my shoulders. "Will you let me show you something then?" He asks. His eyes are pleading and I can't help but say yes to him. His eyes do something to me as they glow under the moonlit sky. He looks so beautiful and sad at the same time that I'm _almost_ willing to do anything to remove that sadness. He smiles at my last reply and warns me that I might be… hurt, but that pain would not be real. It would simply be a memory. I nod again at this before he tells me to close his eyes. I do so and I feel him press his forehead to mine. Slowly, we sync our breathing, and everything else. Slowly, images start to appear in my mind… images… that form memories. Memories that are not my own.

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_Hao's/Yoh's Point of View.

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_

I blink and I realize that something's different. I feel different… I feel like one person - whole.

And why is that? I wonder. I look around me and everything is both unfamiliar yet familiar to me. I have seen this hill before, and this tree too. Looking around, I could see far into the distance. It seemed that this spot was ideal for staring out into the horizon or looking up at the sky. I saw all this when I was still "Hao." It hit me then, that I was in the Heian era, and that this was from Hao's first life, except, I was him because I was once him. Ah, it's all so confusing. But it made sense, no?

I hear foot steps.

I glance to my side, but before I could make sense of anything, something hit me hard, on the head. I fell back and stumbled on the root of the tree, tripping and fall over.

"Serves you right, demon child!" shouted a boy's voice. I look up to see a group of boys, old and young surround me. They were armed with sticks and stones and they began shouting at me and throwing things. For some reason, I could not fight back. I had no control over this child's body that I was in. I couldn't even protect myself. And as another rock collided with my head, I yelped in pain and I felt blood trickle down my forehead. It hurt all over.

When they ran out of things to throw, those armed with sticks began beating me. All the while, the insults and profanities never stopped. They accused me of being a demon child, of being the son of a fox demon. Everything hurt, and it wasn't just my body. I felt like crying, but something held me back. Something told me to not show my tears in front of these boys.

When the boys finally left, I began to cry. It was so horrible... as I tried to wipe my tears away, more and more flowed out. Eventually, I saw the sky turn dark. It was becoming night, and in the distance, I saw a glow of light moving through the forest. I wander weakly down the hill to a grassy field. In the distance, I could see a straw hut in the back ground, and a forest that surrounded it all. It doesn't take long, but the sky is soon pitch black and I'm surrounded in darkness. Even though it was dark, the glow in the distance seemed to be moving closer but it was headed in the direction of the little straw hut that I had seen earlier.

Realization once again hit me, and my body - Hao's body - moved on it's own. I was not in control of this, everything that was happening now was all predetermined because it had already happened. I was just reliving it.

"'Kaa-san! 'Kaa-san!" I scream. The voice is that of a child's, screaming for his mother. But Hao's mother never comes. The body jumps up and begins running frantically towards the straw hut as the glow from before becomes brighter. I realize that it had been a mob, traveling by night with torches towards the house that Hao and his mother had shared the place that I was running towards now.

I tripped over a few times, still weak and hurt from the encounter with those boys, but I could not stop myself to take a moment's break. The scene before me began to unfold as I understood exactly what was happened. By the time I reach the house, the sound of laughter from the men who did this filled the air, as did the cackling sound of the fire.

"No! Don't kill her! She did nothing wrong! No!" I scream. My throat feels hoarse as I scream again and again. I start to cry once again, but I don't wipe the tears away. I let them fall and blur my vision of the burning house in front of me. " 'KAA- SAN!" I scream once again as the fire grows larger. Around me, the laughter dies down, and the evil smiles on the men's faces fade away as they spot me.

"Damned demon! Be gone with you!" one of them shouted at me. He angrily stalked towards me as I froze in fear. In no less than a few seconds, he was standing before me and he raised his leg, kicking me. The air was knocked out of me and I saw other men rushing forward to join in. it was just like before, except their attacks were more powerful, and they wanted to kill me. They all shouted for me to die, to join my mother, the "fox demon," in death. I tried to get away, but I was unable to. This body was so small, so weak… I was only a child.

Hao had only been a child at that time.

When I could no longer move; when I was bloody and battered, the men left, thinking I was dead. The fire that was once my home kept burning though, and inside was Hao's mother; my mother. I felt some liquid around me, whether it was the blood from my wounds or the tears from my eyes, I don't know, but there sure was a lot of it. The heat from the house was unbearable, I had been kicked towards the house so that I now lay quite close to the flames. The cackling sounds of the fire, the smell of burning flesh, hair and straw filled the air, and the unbearable heat... It was horrible.

This was truly hell.

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_Yoh's Point of View.

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_

My eyes shot open and I gasped for air, coughing and choking. I feel arms wrap around me and pat my back firmly, trying to calm me and help me regain my breath.

"It's okay, it's over now," Hao said in comfort. When I recovered my composure, he held me at arms distance. In his eyes, I could see the pain that he had just relived to show me. The memories brought up suppressed feelings in him and I could feel the anger and sadness boil from within him, but for my sake, he kept his calm.

"Is… that what… you told yourself… to keep on… going?" I asked him. He managed a dry chuckle.

"Yeah. I told myself that '_at least it was over now._' "

I looked up at him in a slightly weakened state. I had just relived Hao's memory of… something terrible. I think back on it, and I realize that all that had just happened in one day. In a single day, Hao had been beat, twice, and not only did he lose his home, but he lost his mother too.

"How old were you?" I ask him. He frowns.

"Too young."

"How old?"

"Four."

"Too young," I agree, and I cough again. The pain that I had felt from the memory faded quickly, but I could almost feel the presence of those boys and those men, hovering over me, armed with their weapons and attacking me like they did. I shivered at the thought of it all. Hao once again hugs me, telling me that I can forget all that now, that I didn't need to think about such sad memories.

"But you were the one who showed them to me."

"I only wanted you to see what I saw. I'm satisfied with that much."

I don't add anything more to the argument and I let it drop. After all, I agreed, I'd rather think about happy things instead of dwelling on the past too much. When Hao saw the change in my expression, he smiled at me and took my hands, pulling me forward.

"Come, I have something else for you," he said and led me around the edge of the lake. When we had walked a fair distance, he pointed over his shoulder, "let's go for a boat ride." the smile on his face showed no signs that he had been frowning just moments ago. I thought it strange that he could change his mood so easily, but shrugged at the thought. After all, Hao had suggested we go for a (romantic) moonlight boat ride and I was up for it.

I followed him to the boat which he helped me into and then he pushed the thing into the lake before jumping in himself. He grabbed the oars and started to paddle us into the middle of the lake, making small currents in the water while he did so. I watched him as he did this, admiring the easy expression on his face and his arms as they moved to steer us forward. I watched and observed, noting that he was very lean (not a inch of fat on him), and that his arms were very muscular. Watching him paddle the boat like this… it was kind of… hot.

We stopped in the middle of the lake and Hao leaned back to relax as well. We both looked up at the sky, appreciating the light that the stars and moon cast upon us. Not only did it light everything up, but it made everything glow with a surreal light and look like it was all from a dream (which it was, but still). I glanced over the edge of the boat and gasped as I saw the night sky reflected on the lake's surface. It was so pretty… I reached out, placing my hand in the cool water. It felt nice as I inched my hand closer and closer towards one of the reflections of the stars.

"What are you doing?" Hao asked with interest. He shifted his gaze from the stars to me and I smiled cheekily back at him.

"Ah, I wanted to touch a star. You can't do so in real life, so I thought I might as well try to touch the reflection," I answered. Hao laughed.

"But this isn't real life," he smiled, looking back up at the stars again, "this is a dream." He reached out, towards the sky, and gently plucked a shining star from the sky. I gasped in delight as I saw the little dot of light in his hands and. Hao extended his arm to me.

"A present, for you," he says.

I laugh, "you're giving me a star?"

Hao laughs as I reach for it, hesitantly (scared that I might destroy the star), to touch it. Before I did though, Hao throws it back into the sky, quickly, he says, "it's a shooting star! Make a wish!" I laugh at his attempts to make me smile and I wish on the shooting star.

"What did you wish for?" he asks, I shake my head. "I can't tell you, or it won't come true." Hao pouts at me and he looks _really_ adorable. I laugh and try to stand without rocking the boat. I make my way to his side and then I plop myself on his lap. He looks startled, but he likes it…

"Aren't you cheeky…" he trails off. I see that look in his eyes, it tells me that he wants to kiss me, and I let him. We pull apart for a moment and I smile. "You know, this would be so much better if we had music," I note. Hao snaps his fingers and instantly, there's music, he seems to be able to do anything here.

He kisses me again and this time, it's more passionate. I feel his tongue slip into my mouth and tease me, getting me to come and play. I oblige and kiss back. It's not long before we're lying at the bottom of the boat, kissing and pulling each other closer and closer. We adjust so that I'm underneath Hao when we pull apart for air. I look up and see Hao staring down at me, but at the same time, I see the stars, up above. They twinkle with a different light - much brighter - and I realize that it's the stars that were making the music. I gasp, just as Hao was going down for another kiss, and it turns into a moan.

I let Hao do whatever he wants; all the while I listen to the stars sing. They seem to be telling me to follow along and go where fate leads me, so I simply lie there, letting Hao take me where ever he wants to go.

**A/N: what'd you think of that? I'm sorry that I've been so lazy about updating and everything. School's just really hectic… I don't know. It's just chaos right now that I think I've forgotten a lot of the things I wanted to do in this fic. I'll need to sit down a try to remember them when I have the time. But enough about that. Please review and tell me what you think, that's all! **

**And thanks for reading! **


	7. two choices

**Reviews:**

**SK-fan7: that means so much, thank you! hm, I just like how the twins are close in this... well.. kind of... Anyway, you're welcome and i hope you enjoy this next bit too.**

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**KrazynKuki: it's okay. you can take you're time as long as you make it good! haha, no pressure. I'm sure it'll be great and I love your fanfics anyway. :) **

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**Fuyuki-san : aww, thank you! and thanks for the review as well. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. :)**

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**zaza98able: it's okay. ( i tell you this every time...) hm, I know what you mean. The other day, I barely had any sleep... but i was surprised that i was able to stay up the whole day! Hm... how did the field trip go?**

**haha, it's okay. Well, i hope you did well anyway. X) **

**Yeah! I just hope that I can manage it all, and it won't get confusing...**

**you think...?**

**Thanks again... :) **

**I know! D: I think that what happened to him was probably much worse though... since he wants to kill ALL humans after all... but you might not think that in this chapter.. I don't know, I'll wait to see your review. :)**

**THat's true. I mean, I've always liked the sky (night and day), but after reading Shaman King, I took more time to watch the sky... haha. but that's what i like about Yoh. He's so... simple.**

**Hm, thanks (again), school's being more manageable.. but it's still pretty bad. We'll see if I survive this next week first. haha.**

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**A/N: HAO'S POV IN THIS CHAPTER, YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT!**

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Moonlight Dream: "two choices."

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_The magic of love is moonlight;  
Just having met you is super romantic.  
Moonlight shines on the two of us;  
Take me to your world._

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_Yoh's Point of View._

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I woke up and saw that Amidamaru was paler than normal. I gave him a look and when he noticed that I was awake, he clung to me like his afterlife depended on it.

"Yoh-dono!" he cries. I can see the streams of ghostly tears fall from his eyes. Eh… did something happen?

"Ne… Amidamaru, did something happen?" I ask in concern. Amidamaru wipes his eyes and lets go, regaining his composer… "Ah, no… Yoh-dono was just sleep talking. It scared me a little," Amidamaru answered. His eyebrows we brought close together, making a face of worry.

"What did I say…?" I ask, this time, it was my turn to worry… had I said something that might reveal…

"Something about a woman… something about not killing that woman." Hao's mother. I was sleep talking about her. "You were… crying… too…" Amidamaru said. My hand went instinctively up to my face and I felt the few tears that had still not dried yet. I wiped them off and tasted it. It was salty; I had been crying.

"it… was a bad dream…" I say after a moment. Amidamaru seems to nod in agreement and I chuckle as to lighten the mood. I don't want to have such a tense atmosphere around me, and I don't want Amidamaru finding out about what goes on in my dreams. That last thing I'd want was for anyone to find out.

I get up and out from my futon so I can start my day. I needed to do some training and then some searching for a full team for the tournament. As much as I would have liked to skip the training altogether, I knew that Anna would kill me if she found out, and the problem was that Anna _always_ found out when I was slacking off. So I set off on a jog with weights attached to my arms and legs, all the while, Amidamaru floated by me with easy. I wish I could just float weightlessly like that, life would be so much easier. The jog was uneventful and boring. By the time I was done, and back at the house, it was getting close to noon, so I decided to have lunch. I ate by myself, wondering where everyone else was (we usually ate together after all), but shrugged it off. They were all probably just busy or something, after all, the tournament was starting soon. After lunch, I started walking around the island to sight see… well, not really, because most of the time, I was just watching the clouds as I wandered about.

* * *

_Hao's Point of View._

* * *

That brother of mine, he's too defenseless.

I watched as he wandered about the island aimlessly, his spirit guardian following him everywhere he went, but even with that, he was very defenseless… weak.

Maybe I should go down there and pay him a _real_ visit? That would be interesting. I frown, remembering the effects of the spell. I shouldn't see him till the moon is out… I could go down there now, but then the spell would have no effect.

Hmph.

I turn away from my brother and head back to camp. On the way, Opacho shows up, telling me the different teams that had formed and that - to my delight - Yoh was still without a team. Maybe when I visit him later, at night, I can _ask_ him to join my team again. I return to my base and the Hanagumi come up to me, telling me that they had wiped out three teams today, which would lessen the number of competitors. I smirk at that thought. Today is a good day.

When I'm left alone again, I close my eyes, hoping to fall asleep and dream without Yoh being in my dreams for once. Even though I was the one who cast the spell which makes all our dreams take place under moonlight (and thus, the moonlight takes effect and makes Yoh feel… ), I was not the one who bound our dreams together. It's still a mystery to me as to why we sometimes share our dreams and why we started to share them more frequently lately. At least I have found a way to make it an advantage. But seeing him in my dreams is really annoying.

I chose to be reborn in a body that would separate into twins because needed a way to rid myself of those stupid emotions. I needed a way to get rid of things like "sympathy" or even things that might hold me back, like "laziness." All those traits of mine… all my weaknesses had to be cast aside, and what better way than to separate them from myself like so? The only problems was that I had to give away half of my power to Yoh, and these damned dreams that we keep sharing.

But since Yoh had half my power, he would be my biggest worry in this Shaman Fight. So I needed him on my side. Which is why, no matter how annoying it is, I've devised a plan to use these dreams to my advantage. All at the price of a good night's rest…

Oh come on. I can't get a break, can I?

It's the stupid field at night again, which means that it won't be long before Yoh turns up. I thought he had been out for a walk, not napping. But… wait… something's different.

There's no moon. Or stars for that matter.

I frown. Hadn't I cast a spell that makes all our dreams have a night sky? That way, the moonlight would… maybe this isn't one of our dreams… it's definitely not one of our dreams.

Then what is this? I look around, and then… I see Yoh in the distance. For a second, I think that it's the real Yoh, but then I see myself in the distance as well. What they hell is going on?

A scene plays out… it was… it was what happened in our dream yesterday. I see Yoh and I sharing the memory, and I see us leave to go play in the water. I turn and I see Yoh again. I appear, not long after and I just stare at him. We disappear. But more show up. More and more visions of our past dreams.

What is this?

This… it felt like the reishi, whenever I was near someone, I would read their mind, whether I wanted to or not, except, this was almost like reading my own mind. It felt so strange and yet I felt somewhat disturbed at the same time. I tried to shut my eyes and block out the images, but even behind my eyelids, I would see the our dreams.. It went on like this for the longest time, I couldn't even wake myself up, until, I saw the very first dream we shared together… we were only three years old at the time…That had been over a decade ago.

I gasp as I remember that time, but the scene fades away quickly. It's replaced by a new scene, one I hadn't seen before… Yoh appeared again.

No, wait. There are two Yohs.

I see two of myself appear too, and in both scenes, Yoh and I begin to talk. I'm quite a distance away, so I can't hear much, but I catch stray sentences. I see the two scenes of us simply talking and then I feel the mood around them change. Yoh looks angry, like he disagrees with something I said. In one scene, I see myself shout back at Yoh, and argue with him. The two of us begin to shout and scream and argue, and eventually, Yoh leaves, and I disappear too. In the other scene, I see myself stand and argue. The scenes look very similar, except there's one difference. In the second scene, something happens. I do something… something that makes Yoh stop yelling… and I walk closer towards him, and then, I see us kiss.

It's not something uncommon; I had done it many times before. It was all part of my plan to have Yoh join my side. I could win him over in these dreams, where he would be confused as to what my true self was, and if I played my cards right, I could seduce him and have him join me. Yes. That was my plan.

But right after I see the two of us pul apart, I see Yoh collapse to the floor, and I stand, towering over him… what had I done to him?

The two scenes that had just played out simultaneously showed me something very important. It showed me what I needed to do… I know that I casted a spell on him in the second scene, but what spell was it, I wonder…?

And then it clicked in my head. I smirked; realizing how much better this plan was than the one before. Now I know exactly what to do when I next saw Yoh in my dreams…

"Hao?"

Perfect.

* * *

**A/N: Hao's a bit of a jerk, isn't he, using Yoh like that. But i don't think i did that well in portraying Hao's character. I might consider rewriting JUST THIS CHAPTER, but I'm going to give it a bit more thought first.**

**Oh, and for those of you who like the anime/manga "Black Cat" (which i absolutely adore), I wrote a oneshot for it. :)  
**


	8. all a dream

**Reviews:**

**Thunder of Friendship: isn't it? I love this part a lot actually. :) haha, take your time, i wonder if you'll figure it out?**

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******zaza98able: ** hmm, let's just say it's somewhere close to infinite? Girly? haha, I get what you mean. I like my game consoles... I don't have a PSP, but I has a DSi! aww, well i hope your friend is better now. :) 

**That's true. i like that about multiple POVs because you see a situation in different ways. Maybe you see one POV and think something, but when you see another POV, it because more clear and you understand more than the characters. I like that about having more than one POV.**

**I'm lost too now. haha... oh well?**

**Actually, i don't think i did a very good job with Hao. I'll work on him a bit, but he's a tough one. yeah, I know. I love Yoh too... he's just so... lovable? i can't think of another word to describe him. anyway, yeah, he's the victim. I feel bad too...**

**that's so cool. Hm, every time i look at the stars, i make a wish. The clouds, I don't geta chance to sit down and watch, but I try to look up whenever I can. It always makes me feel relaxed, seeing fluffy white clouds. The night sky is just beautiful too. Too bad I live in the city... well, the suburbs. I get to see the stars, but not as often as I'd like to.**

**Ouch. Good luck. I have a lot of final projects and tests. it's terrible. ;;**

**I hope you didn't get into trouble last time! Hmm, Hao's plan is a little obvious, but i don't know if I'm going to outright state it yet. That aside, hope you like this chapter! **

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**A/N: Here's a clue as to what's going on in this chapter:**

**The movie Inception. **

**This is what happens when you watch that movie, listen to Moonlight by moumoon and read Descartes' meditations. XP**

**Anyway, this is the chapter where everything gets REALLY confusing! YAY! Enjoy!(Oh, and sorry this took so long, didn't let me log in yesterday. D: )  
**

* * *

Moonlight Dream: "all… a dream…?"

* * *

_Yoh's Point of View._

* * *

"Wake up."

That was the only warning I got before I was kicked out of my bed. I yelped at the sudden pain at my side, and whimper a bit. My eyes shoot open and I wait for my vision to adjust before I see what's going on. Anna's standing above me, her foot readying to kick me again.

"Ah, mornin' Annah," I reply.

Anna shrugs and turns around, leaving my room so that I can get dressed. As I pull myself out of the futon, I glance at the clock. It tells me that it's five in the morning, but that's okay, because I'm leaving today -

Wait, that isn't right.

Why am I at the onsen?

I glance around. Everything seemed to be in the right place. It was exactly like the onsen back in Tokyo, but that was the problem, hadn't I left for America months ago? What was I doing back here? I scratched the back of my head, trying to figure out what was going on. I glance at the calendar that I had hung up on the wall near the door. T_oday_ is the day I'm supposed to leave for America. It's even marked, and that's what I had thought when I woke up, right?

Had I dreamt that I left for America?

I lift my hand to my cheek. It felt swollen from the slap that Anna gave me months ago… or had that been last night?

"Amidamaru?"

"Yes?" I hear the spirit come up next to me immediately.

"What day is it today?"

"Why, it's the day that Yoh-dono leaves for America. The Patch had announced that everyone moving on in the competition are to gather today for the flight to -"

"okay, I got it," I waved him off so I could be alone. Normally, I wouldn't be so cold towards Amidamaru, but something was strange. I didn't get why I was back here in Tokyo. I could have sworn that I went to America, fell out of a plane, traveled across a desert, met a bunch of people who wanted to kill me, and was currently looking for a team in the Shaman Tournament. But Apparently, all that didn't happen.

I try to think back_. Had_ that all been a dream?

What had I dreamt about last night? Suddenly, I couldn't remember. It all felt really hazy and fuzzy.

Wait.. Why did I find all this strange again? What had I dreamt happened again? Ugh, my head hurt… this is why I avoided thinking too much. Okay, let's start from the top. Today is the day that I'm supposed to leave for America, but something's strange… I dreamt that… that… I can't remember what I dreamt now… um… I dreamt that… _he_ visited me in my dreams again. What was his name… was it Hao?

But how would I know that, did he tell me his name? I can't remember… did he tell me last night in the dream?

Ugh… my head hurt.

Maybe I can think about this later, for now, I had to get ready. So I dress myself and go through my morning routine, brushing my teeth, finishing up last minute packing and other things. I drag my stuff downstairs and go to the kitchen to get some breakfast.

I see Manta and Ren sitting at the table as Ryu starts to serve breakfast. Anna enters right after me, followed by a very sleepy looking Horo, complaining about how Anna had woken him up.

We all take our seats and eat. It's a quiet event that passes quickly, and soon, Ryu, Horo, Ren and I are out the door, making our way to Yokocha base, while Manta and Anna wave at us from the door, wishing us good luck (in Anna's case, she reminds me that I "_better win or else_").

By the time we reach Yokocha base, I feel like I'm going through a major déjà vu.

* * *

"Yoh… the reason why I came was because I was really moved by your determination in your last battle. If it's you, I think you can be a good partner with me, so you have to win every fight, for _me_, the future king, Hao."

I staggered back, taken by surprise by his words and the fact that he called out specifically to me. He starts to walk away, leaving my friends and I in quite a state.

Things were getting really weird. I _swear_ all this had happened before. But when? Why can't I remember? Maybe _he _knows. I don't know why I think this… there just seemed to get something about him. Whereas everyone was doing exactly what I thought they would do, Hao didn't. I was getting this major déjà vu feeling from everyone except him.

I call out. "Hao!"

This is different. For the first time in the last few hours, I don't know what's going to happen next. He turns around, a smile, so much like my own, is plastered on his face.

"Yes?" He waves a hand behind him and all his followers disappear. My friends are all staring at me.

"I need to talk to you," I say, unsure of what I'm doing. The smile on his face seems to grow with every word that comes out of my mouth.

"Come," he gestures to me. And I do.

* * *

**A/N : I hope everyone's confused. :D If you are though, all will be explained… in time.**

**And sorry that this was kind of short. :T**

**Oh, by the way, I started a loose collection of Oneshots that sort of make up a story. I already made it to the third "chapter," so i hope you guys check that one out. It's first story is called "In Five Hundred Years." :)**

**Anyway, Please Review!  
**


	9. illusions of coffee and dreams of spells

**Reviews:**

**SK-fan7: really? I'm sorry about that then! I hope this chapter clears up somethings, if it doesn't, then it'll get clearer over the next few chapters. And sorry this chapter took so long to update. I didn't mean to leave it like that for so long, so i hope you'll forgive me! Ahhh... thanks, that made me smile. :') anyway, enjoy!**

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**Thunder of Friendship: Ohh, i like your guessing! I can't tell you if you got anything right or wrong though, because that might be ruining the story, you know? So you'll just have to wait. This chapter is sort of a hint as to how Hao got Yoh to fall for his trap. I won't say anything for sure though. you'll just have to keep guessing. ;) **

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**zaza98able: you're writing? :O LET ME READ! I completely forgive you(though you didn't apologize) if you let me read it! :D haha, yeah, i'm really attached to my DS. X3 **

**showing every POV for a situation is good, but after awhile, it can get a little repetitive, that's what i think. :P I just hope I don't do that... XP**

**OMG, I LOVE SKITTLES. sorry, that was random too. ;;**

**really? hm... I don't now. I guess i can see why you say that...but yes, Yoh is cute and lovable and... I can't think of any better word. I just love Yoh.**

**I watch the clouds if I'm walking or in the car. The stars I don't get to see as much though, unfortunately. Hmm, I never got the window seat in class. I wish i did though.**

**haha, thanks. but i have a test that I'm totally unprepared for. ;; ahh... good luck to us both!**

**Hmmm, maybe not this chapter, but I'm thinking of making it up to you guys later. ;) Hm, i just hope I don't have another delayed update. :P**

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**A/N: sorry this came so late. I've been so busy, it's terrible. Plus, I caught a cold which isn't helping things. But I hope you'll all excuse me for the late chapter and… yeah.**

**Enjoy.**

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Moonlight Dream: "illusions of coffee and dreams of spells."

* * *

_Hao's Point of View._

* * *

I watch as he dreams, smiling to myself.

This was going better than how my original plan would have. I liked this idea so much better… now, to fix some things in the _real world_ before Yoh wakes up. I wake myself up without waking him up, hoping that the spell will last a little longer. Well, it should, anyway. After all, I was the one who came up with that spell.

I open my eyes and I'm sitting in my"throne" back in my base. My followers seem to just be mucking about, with nothing to do. They seem a little tired, and through a broken window, I can see that it's nearly morning.

"Hao-sama. Did you sleep well?" I glance to the side and see Mari staring at me with those big eyes of hers.

"Yes, I did. Thank you for asking," I reply. Mari seems happy.

"Good. Mari thought that Hao-sama hasn't been sleep well lately. Mari is happy that Hao-sama slept well last night."

I give her a smile and she returns to Kanna and Machi. I glance around the room, and everyone seems to get the message. They all leave to complete the tasks that I had already assigned them. It's then that Opacho shows up.

"Hao-sama needs me?"

"Yes I do. Say, Opacho… can you create illusions?"

Opacho smiles, nodding vigorously.

"Come, we're going to get some coffee," I smile.

* * *

_Yoh's Point of View._

* * *

I wake up gasping. Am I still dreaming? What's going on here?

I look around. This isn't the onsen. It… it's a hotel room. I know where I am… except something's not right again. The last time I woke up from the memory of the star within me, Silva was there, offering me some banana and fish soup. But he wasn't here this time, or had that been part of a dream too?

But the memory of the star within me. It was the same. I saw that memory twice… I'm confused now.

I saw the memory twice, and I know that one of the times I saw it, it had been in a dream. But which time was it a dream? The time when I woke up and Silva was there? Or this time, waking up and not knowing whether I was still dreaming or back in reality.

It's all so confusing… my head hurt again.

I slump back down into my covers, unsure of what was what anymore. I didn't even know if I was still dreaming right now or wide awake.

I shook my head, "it'll all work out," I say to myself, and then I smile. Well, if I'm still dreaming right now, then I should at least make myself comfortable. I mean… I could do whatever I wanted right now, right? You can do whatever you want to do in dreams, right? My smile grows bigger.

Mmm, maybe I can fly, like a ghost, like Amid-

"Get your lazy ass up."

WHAT THE HELL IS ANNA DOING IN MY DREAM?

Anna removes her foot from my face and watches as I fall back down. I rub at my nose, which I think is broken, and I feel tears ready to spill.

"That hurt!"

"well get up," she says and leaves my room. I grumble to myself. What's she doing here? I thought I was dreaming… I mean… does this mean I'm awake and not in dreamland somewhere? I remove my hand from my nose and I see blood. The pain had felt real, but it felt real when I woke up last time… which turned out that I was dreaming. So am I still dreaming now?

Ugh… I don't want to think!

"Yoh!"

Oh right, I should get up before Anna comes back here to finish me off.

I drag myself up and I get dressed. I go downstairs where Anna's already finishing off her breakfast and… there seems to be nothing left for me.

"You should get up earlier," she tells me. "Now go run laps."

Silently crying to myself, I make my way out of the kitchen. "Besides, you had coffee with him already."

"What?" I spun around. What did Anna just say?

"Nothing. Go."

I shrug it off and do as I'm told. Things are just too confusing and my head hurts too much to bother thinking about it. All I managed to make of everything was that I was either suddenly really bad at telling dreams from reality or I was stuck in some kid of perpetual dream… which isn't cool, because either way, I didn't know if I was dreaming or not. And then there was the matter of me going to get coffee with someone. What was that about?

* * *

_Amidamaru's Point of View._

* * *

"Ah! When did you arrive?" I ask in shock. After waking up and leaving the safety of my tablet, I found that Yoh was gone. I was worried and frantic, thinking that I had failed in protecting Master Yoh again, until I floated downstairs and found Anna sitting at the table, sipping at her tea.

"When Manta arrived. Except, that boy got lost somewhere. I presume Faust found him because I saw those two talking this morning."

"Then where were you till now?" I asked. I got this feeling that Anna was getting angry… but I didn't know why. Unconsciously, I began to retreat, backing away from her.

"No one thought to tell me where they were staying, did they? Do you know how many spirits I had to ask to find this place? You _know_ I hate having to do things myself," she shot at me angrily. I gulped as I saw her hand reach for those dreaded blue beads, but I couldn't float away fast enough.

_Clack_.

"You better make sure Yoh's running those laps like I told him to! If he's slacking off, then both of you are going to get it," Anna seethed. Her voice was low, but you could clearly hear the malice in her voice. I choked, being restrained by the beads. Anna was scary like this… not as scary as when she held her silent wrath at bay, but close enough. And right now, I was in pain.

"got it?"

"Yes Anna!" I squeak and fly off as she releases me. I might seem like a coward… a fool of a samurai, but no one could stand up to Anna… I don't think that even Hao can.

* * *

I fly around, hoping to find Yoh, and hoping that he was running and not napping. But knowing my master, it was unlikely that he would be doing what he was told. I fly higher up to see farther distances and I make out the bright orange colour of Yoh-dono's headphones. I frown, seeing as he's sitting underneath a tree. Yoh is most definitely slacking off.

Fearing for myself and my Master, I fly over, hoping to wake him up and get him running again. As I near him, I realize that he's asleep again (he sleeps a lot lately), and I wonder how I can wake Yoh from his sleep.

"Yoh-dono," I call out to him. There's no response. I call louder. Still nothing. I lift my hand to him, knowing that I cannot actually "touch" him, but Yoh, being a Shaman should be able to sense it. I shake him but he still doesn't respond. I notice that his nose is in a funny position and laugh at how he has injured himself already (and the Shaman Tournament hasn't even officially started yet).

"Yoh-dono," I try again, this time, calling out louder and shaking him as well. But he still didn't respond. Either he was really tired and deep in sleep, or something was wrong. I began to worry now, and I checked Yoh for any injuries or anything that might be abnormal. There was nothing, he seemed to just be in really deep sleep.

But something _must_ be wrong if he's not waking up! Maybe I should bring Anna here? I shiver, no, she would absolutely kill Yoh and rip my soul to shreds if her suspicions were confirmed. Then who do I call for help?

* * *

_Hao's Point of View._

* * *

"Tell me Opacho, how will his friends react?"

"They will not like it. They will think that Yoh-sama has betrayed them. They will say things like "you're crazy. You had coffee with that piece of shit," and such. But Opacho doesn't like the other things they say. Opacho doesn't like that Hao-sama is insulted."

"It's okay Opacho. And thank you," I smile at the little girl. She beams back and then she goes on her way, back to the base because she knows that I have things to do. Such a good little girl. I like Opacho. She's innocent and she's not scared of me.

I begin to walk towards the more crowded part of the island to find my brother. I need to make him sleep right now so that I can go further along with my plans. By now, he must be confused, questioning whether or not he is dreaming of in reality. Soon, I pick up on the thoughts of a boy who's confused. I smile, seeing as I have found my brother and that he's just as confused as I want him to be.

Now, I need him to sleep.

He's jogging, but I pay no mind to that. With a snap of my fingers, I cast a spell on him and he drops to the ground, passed out, asleep and dreaming. I go down there to drag him under a tree where he could remain hidden and asleep until I want him to wake up.

Hmm, Opacho said that his friends would call him an idiot and say he was crazy. Perfect. That's what Yoh will dream of now. I snap my fingers and cast another spell on him. This one, to control his dreams.

"He'll dream that they turn on him. That I am the only one he can really trust. When he can not longer take his friends' betrayal, he will sleep within this dream. He will dream in a dream. And in that other dream, he will see myself and he will remember how he trusts me…" I smile, remembering something else, "… how he loves me. "

I motion my hand towards Yoh, and then I lift his chin with the same hand. I lean down and kiss him on the lips to finish off the spell.

After a moment, I pull away, knowing that soon, Yoh will be mine.

* * *

**A/N:** **I hope that was okay. I didn't get to fix it up as much as I would have liked with everything going on, but, there was nothing terrible astray, so I think it's fine. **

**Anyway, please review! (Oh, and anyone else love that last line... "Yoh will be mine"? It sounds awfully possessive XD )**


	10. I apologize

I'm so sorry that I've decided to not finish this story. I had every intention of doing so when I first started, but it seems that I've lost inspiration for this story. If I ever write anything more, I will post it, but until then, I apologize to everyone who took the time to read this. I thank you for reading and to the few who reviewed. You all brightened my day when you decided to take the time and read my story and I apologize again for letting you all down and not telling the full story that I wanted to.


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